Cavaliers 108, 76ers 86
CLEVELAND -- Guard Kyrie Irving made his return following knee surgery to score 12 points in 17 minutes and the Cleveland Cavaliers easily handled the Philadelphia 76ers 108-86 on Sunday for their fifth straight win.
Irving missed his first five shots in his debut following June surgery to repair a fractured kneecap. He missed the first 24 games and showed rust early, although he made four of five shots during one stretch. He returned in the fourth quarter with the Cavs ahead by 32 in order to reach his minutes allotment.
Cavs forward LeBron James scored 23 points in a season-low 26 minutes and guard Matthew Dellavedova scored 20 points off the bench, including four 3-pointers. Both marks were season highs for Dellavedova and missed matching his career highs by one.
Forward Nerlens Noel had 15 points and 12 rebounds and center Jahlil Okafor had nine points and eight rebounds for the Sixers, who have dropped 10 straight following their lone win of the season. JaKarr Sampson had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Irving fractured his knee in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and needed 6 1/2 months of rest and rehabilitation. He has been practicing with his teammates for about two weeks, but the team was cautious in planning out his return.
Dellavedova returned to the bench to make room for Irving, although Dellavedova entered as the league leader with 3.85 assists per turnover. He matched a season-high four turnovers, but shot 4 of 6 on 3-pointers and 7 of 10 overall.
The Cavs took control in the second quarter when they forced 10 turnovers and the Sixers shot 19 percent (4 of 21) in the quarter. The Cavs led by 17 at the half and built it to as many as 35 in the fourth quarter against the team with the worst record.
NOTES: G Mo Williams has missed the last two games with a sprained right thumb, but he hopes to play Wednesday when the Cavs host the Knicks. Williams has twice needed surgery to insert pins after tearing a ligament in that thumb, but says this one isn't as serious. ... G Matthew Dellavedova is shooting 48 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. ... Sixers coach Brett Brown said he has cut G Nik Stauskas' minutes in part because Stauskas has struggled with his defensive effort in recent games. ... Brown met Cavs G Kyrie Irving when Irving was 2 days old. Brown coached his father, Drederick, and tried recruiting him to play for the Australian National team in the Olympics. Brown sees a lot of similarities between father and son. "Drederick had this New York City swagger, playground guard, score in his sleep, score any way he wants," Brown said. "Kyrie has his dad's scoring mentality."